Moscow, 17 October 2016
X5 Retail Group N.V. ("X5" or "the Company"), a leading Russian food retailer (LSE ticker: “FIVE”), announces the launch of GoCargo, the Company’s proprietary solution for booking cargo transportation services online. The new service enables senders to place shipping orders, and distributes them among registered private carriers based on the cargo’s location and the delivery address. In 2017, GoCargo will be rolled out to all of X5’s networks and used for 100% of their third party shipping orders. In the future, it will be also made available to other cargo shippers for their transportation needs.
The IT framework for GoCargo is based on an algorithm that matches cargo and transport by volume, weight, temperature conditions, shipping dates, as well as loading and parking points. It can process up to 10,000 orders daily. The system is integrated into X5 Retail Group’s ERP infrastructure, which expedites the process of searching for and booking transport, and rules out possible human errors and streamlines the document workflow.
GoCargo stores information on the cost and status of shipping orders, along with delivery notes, warrants for transportation, and customers’ documents. The parties exchange legal documents directly through the service using the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) technology.
The system can be accessed through a website or through the GoCargo app for Android.
For the remainder of 2016, X5’s shipping orders in the Central Federal District will be serviced by around 300 vehicles operated by third party companies that are already registered in the system. The number of registered vehicles is expected to reach 2,000 during 2017. In 2017 X5 plans to place 100% of its third party shipping orders via the GoCarGo system, which accounts for approximately 30% of company’s overall cargo shipping volume. The remainder of cargo shipping will be executed by X5’s own fleet, which consists of 1,561 trucks (as of 30 September 2016).
In the future, all legal entities and sole proprietors will be able to register to both place and receive orders in the system, provided they are verified by X5’s security service.
Timur Parshikov, X5’s Director of Transport, commented: “GoCargo will enable X5 to manage transportation more efficiently by optimising third-party transportation services and cutting logistics costs.”
Carriers will be able to register and use GoCargo free of charge. As an additional service option for drivers looking for cargo transportation jobs and registered in GoCargo, X5 will rent out and sell trucks suitable for the transportation of its cargos. Other benefits for GoCargo-registered drivers will include fuel and maintenance discounts, as well as support from GoCargo experts in drafting legal documents for commercial cargo transportation.